Appearance: He has short hair with a dark mustache. He looks very short and skinny.
Habitual locations: Nanking
Daily routine:
6:45 AM - Wake up
7:30 AM - Ready for work
8:00 AM - Train soldiers
6:00 PM - Done with training
11:00 PM - Returns home
Personality/Quirks/Unique Personality Traits: He is an intelligent man with rational thinking. He also has high self-pride and will do anything to keep it.
Past/individual-family history: He fought in the Russo-Japanese of 1904-05. He was also appointed the commander of the Japanese Shanghai Expeditionary Force.
Family: He did not marry. Furthermore, he did not live with any of his relatives. Matsui Iwane had to move around and stay undercover at times. Thus, living alone was more convenient.
Social relations with your own and other classes (people you deal with or know about in other classes, AND your opinions and feelings about them): I have a reputation for being scary. My men have been trained by me strictly. I am proud of my men and hope that they are proud to be under a great general.
Religion: Buddhist
Portrait:
Diary # I: Calm Before the Storm
Dear Diary,
July 7th, 1937
It has been a long time since I have had the time to write to you. I was so busy with my daily chores that, by night time, I was too tired to write. Anyways, everything is going splendid. I have got all my men trained well and ready for battle. They are well prepared for the war against China. I just finished my afternoon training sessio
n with my men. I told them that serving the country is a honorable thing and that each and everyone of them should be proud to be in the Japanese army. All of them looked eager to fight. Now that I have gotten permission to attack China, I have received a chance to show my strength. In a week or two (Check the date. Japanese soldiers were not near attacking Nanking by July 7th, 1937), my troops and I will reach Nanjing. There, I will face China’s well known general, Tang Sheng-Chih. Although he is known for his military excellence, he has no chance against me. I have the best trained soldiers as well as high technology weapons. China’s weapons, compared to ours, are little toys. Tomorrow I make a speech about how I will fight in Nanjing. I have to talk about how I will fight courageously and demolish the city of Nanjing. However, there is one thing that worries me. We are fighting on foreign ground which gives us a disadvantage. We have to fight on foreign land with limited supplies, that is my only concern. I know that worrying is not something a great general would do. However, for the wellbeing of my country and soldiers I have to worry. Anyways, I think I should have a good night’s sleep before my great speech tomorrow. I should practice my speech a couple of times to make it perfect because I cannot make a fool of myself and make a mistake. So, farewell diary.
I have once again failed to write to you in a long time. It has taken us a bit longer than expected, but we still managed to get to Nanjing. I am having the best time of my life as a military leader. My men are far better trained than the Chinese soldiers. We are currently firing hundreds of artillery shells at the heart of Nanjing. Many people, including civilians are dying everyday. We are beating the Chinese forces bad. To them, our weapon must look like ones from god. The weapons that the Chinese soldiers are using are pathetic. The weapons almost look like toys and the soldiers look like they are playing some type of joke. The Chinese soldiers look as if they have no will to fight. Their morale looks very low compared to my soldiers and look very tired. After fighting in Nanjing, all of my worries vanished. China’s performance in the war, until now at least, is very poor. In no ways are they beating us. My concern about China having homeland advantage was all useless. The war is seeming like it is happening in Japan, not China.(Meaning?)
It seems like that this war will be over very soon. At the pace we are going at, we could probably end it in about two weeks. Right now, my men are training hard under Mukai Toshiaki. He is known for his strictness. Even I am shocked sometimes by his cruel punishments or his harsh words towards the soldiers. Anyways, I am very happy about how this war is going on. It is totally one sided and we are kicking butt. I am just dying to see the facial expression of Tang Sheng-Chih. He must be worrying a lot that his China is going down by so called “barbarians”.
Although I should not be saying this and I could get in trouble for writing this, I do feel some guilt in attacking Nanjing. When I heard of Nanjing, prior to this war, I heard it was a peaceful city with many people and beautiful scenery. However, I should not be blamed for China’s huge defeat. There is a saying, ‘Every attack can be blocked by a good defense’. I think that Tang Sheng-Chih deserves this defeat. After all, China had many chances to accept change and start modernizing and industrializing. However, China refused and continued its policy of isolation, while Japan accepted change and used it to our advantage. Thus, China was not able to obtain the high technology weapons that my country, Japan, owns today. Thus, I predict that this war will be over in about a week or two and that all of my men can return to their homes and have a peaceful rest. Well, I think I should stop writing. It is getting late and I need some sleep before tomorrow’s battle. I will try to write to you some time soon.
This time, I kept my promise. I have started to write to you in less than a month. I write to you with great happiness. Today was the big day that we broke through the doors of Nanjing and entered the grand city through its doors. I, of course was at the head of this march. As I saw Mukai Toshiaki ordering men to kill hundreds of civilians, I smiled slightly. I was proud of the soldiers carrying out those commands. At the start of war, they were a bunch of timid men and now, by the end of the war, I have converted them to strong, brave soldiers that serve the Imperial army. While I was walking through the door, I got a nasty idea. I decided to take all the girls over 15 and under 30 that I could see and give them to the soldiers as a gift. (Did he really do this?) When I gave my orders, the soldiers screamed in glee, while taking one or two of the girls each. I was happy as well. When I finally went to my tent, I lied down on my bed thinking about the number of people that I have killed. After about 5 minutes I got up and started planning on how to capture the remaining part of Nanjing that was still rebellious. I decided that I would just simply shoot or bomb the area. That would show the Chinese people who is boss and who should be in charge. When that is all done I can finally return to my country. It is now night time. My troops are calling me. I will stop writing here. I want to join my group and celebrate today’s accomplishments. Well good bye until I write again.
Hello. I wrote to you two days ago. Today, I write to you with good news. I have recovered from my illness. It was just a simple cold or something, nothing to worry about. Also, I want to write to you about how I finally beat the Chinese. I am VICTORIOUS!!!! About 3 hours ago, we successfully surrounded the enemy and gained victory. I was so happy and so were the other soldiers. Finally I could return to Japan and see white snow and not snow dyed of blood. I could go back and enjoy my time alone without anyone bothering me. That thought makes me so happy. I just ended celebrating this great victory. We had a huge feast as well as a toast for the victory. I am now on my bed writing to you. Just right before I started writing, I remembered a women with a name tag. The name was Minnie Vautrin. I saw her during my march in to Nanjing a few days ago. I wonder who she might be. I remember her having western physical traits, like high noes and thin lips. She seemed like an American because she did not have that special something that European’s have. I guess she is a missionary, but I still worry why she starred at me in total terror. I mean, I am pretty sure that I did not ever attack the Americans. Well, anyways, I rather go to sleep than jot down words on to a diary. Not that I do not like you, but I am so tired from all the battles, deaths, blood. I wish I could not see that anymore. (Gun sound from outside) Well, I guess I heard another death from outside. I should really go to sleep now. Good bye.
Best regards,
Matsui Iwame
Diary # 5: A Survivor
Dear Diary,
December 22, 1948
Hello my old friend. Today I have to bring you sad news... A week ago, I have been put on trial for war crime. It turns out that I am guilty and I am gonna be hanged tomorrow.
I am not that sad about dying. However, I am really sad that the Imperial Army has lost to the Americans against the war. We have experienced DEFEAT. Well, I guess the Nanjing massacre was my last battle because I declared to retire right after it. I am happy with my life. Over the 70 years I have experienced a lot. I have killed a lot of people, I have traveled to different places, I ate different foods and I met a lot of different people. I have lived a good life. The only thing that angers me now is the cause of all the killing, traveling, eating and meeting people. The cause was serving ‘the Emperor’ and serving in the Imperial Army. I did all those things as a result of joining the army and serving the Emperor. (Awkward) In conclusion I lived a prosperous life, but I did not live a life of freedom. I lived like a slave. The slave of the emperor. However, what have I gained... Nothing. I gained nothing, but a verdict saying I committed war crime. Is this the way I wanted to live my life and how I want to end my life? I guess not... If I do have an after life as Buddha teaches, I hope I reincarnate as a normal human being that is free. (Deep Breathe) Now it is time for me to get ready for my death sentence tomorrow. I will end my diary here. I hope someone will read my diaries in the future. Good Bye.
RAPE OF NANJING DIARY
Name: Matsui Iwane
Age: 59
Gender: Male
Occupation: General
Social Class: High official
Financial situation: Very wealthy
Appearance: He has short hair with a dark mustache. He looks very short and skinny.
Habitual locations: Nanking
Daily routine:
6:45 AM - Wake up
7:30 AM - Ready for work
8:00 AM - Train soldiers
6:00 PM - Done with training
11:00 PM - Returns home
Personality/Quirks/Unique Personality Traits: He is an intelligent man with rational thinking. He also has high self-pride and will do anything to keep it.
Past/individual-family history: He fought in the Russo-Japanese of 1904-05. He was also appointed the commander of the Japanese Shanghai Expeditionary Force.
Family: He did not marry. Furthermore, he did not live with any of his relatives. Matsui Iwane had to move around and stay undercover at times. Thus, living alone was more convenient.
Social relations with your own and other classes (people you deal with or know about in other classes, AND your opinions and feelings about them): I have a reputation for being scary. My men have been trained by me strictly. I am proud of my men and hope that they are proud to be under a great general.
Religion: Buddhist
Portrait:
Diary # I: Calm Before the Storm
Dear Diary,
July 7th, 1937
It has been a long time since I have had the time to write to you. I was so busy with my daily chores that, by night time, I was too tired to write. Anyways, everything is going splendid. I have got all my men trained well and ready for battle. They are well prepared for the war against China. I just finished my afternoon training sessio
n with my men. I told them that serving the country is a honorable thing and that each and everyone of them should be proud to be in the Japanese army. All of them looked eager to fight. Now that I have gotten permission to attack China, I have received a chance to show my strength. In a week or two (Check the date. Japanese soldiers were not near attacking Nanking by July 7th, 1937), my troops and I will reach Nanjing. There, I will face China’s well known general, Tang Sheng-Chih. Although he is known for his military excellence, he has no chance against me. I have the best trained soldiers as well as high technology weapons. China’s weapons, compared to ours, are little toys. Tomorrow I make a speech about how I will fight in Nanjing. I have to talk about how I will fight courageously and demolish the city of Nanjing. However, there is one thing that worries me. We are fighting on foreign ground which gives us a disadvantage. We have to fight on foreign land with limited supplies, that is my only concern. I know that worrying is not something a great general would do. However, for the wellbeing of my country and soldiers I have to worry. Anyways, I think I should have a good night’s sleep before my great speech tomorrow. I should practice my speech a couple of times to make it perfect because I cannot make a fool of myself and make a mistake. So, farewell diary.
Best regards,
Matsui Iwame
IMAGE SOURCE <http://www.nanking-massacre.com/Nanking_Massacre_Photo_picture_Group_Two.html>
Diary # 2: A Knock at the Gate
Dear Diary,
November 30, 1937
I have once again failed to write to you in a long time. It has taken us a bit longer than expected, but we still managed to get to Nanjing. I am having the best time of my life as a military leader. My men are far better trained than the Chinese soldiers. We are currently firing hundreds of artillery shells at the heart of Nanjing. Many people, including civilians are dying everyday. We are beating the Chinese forces bad. To them, our weapon must look like ones from god. The weapons that the Chinese soldiers are using are pathetic. The weapons almost look like toys and the soldiers look like they are playing some type of joke. The Chinese soldiers look as if they have no will to fight. Their morale looks very low compared to my soldiers and look very tired. After fighting in Nanjing, all of my worries vanished. China’s performance in the war, until now at least, is very poor. In no ways are they beating us. My concern about China having homeland advantage was all useless. The war is seeming like it is happening in Japan, not China.(Meaning?)
It seems like that this war will be over very soon. At the pace we are going at, we could probably end it in about two weeks. Right now, my men are training hard under Mukai Toshiaki. He is known for his strictness. Even I am shocked sometimes by his cruel punishments or his harsh words towards the soldiers. Anyways, I am very happy about how this war is going on. It is totally one sided and we are kicking butt. I am just dying to see the facial expression of Tang Sheng-Chih. He must be worrying a lot that his China is going down by so called “barbarians”.
Although I should not be saying this and I could get in trouble for writing this, I do feel some guilt in attacking Nanjing. When I heard of Nanjing, prior to this war, I heard it was a peaceful city with many people and beautiful scenery. However, I should not be blamed for China’s huge defeat. There is a saying, ‘Every attack can be blocked by a good defense’. I think that Tang Sheng-Chih deserves this defeat. After all, China had many chances to accept change and start modernizing and industrializing. However, China refused and continued its policy of isolation, while Japan accepted change and used it to our advantage. Thus, China was not able to obtain the high technology weapons that my country, Japan, owns today. Thus, I predict that this war will be over in about a week or two and that all of my men can return to their homes and have a peaceful rest. Well, I think I should stop writing. It is getting late and I need some sleep before tomorrow’s battle. I will try to write to you some time soon.
Best regards,
Matsui Iwame
IMAGE SOURCE <http://www.nj1937.org/english/show_massacre.asp?id=61>
Diary # 3: The Gates Come Tumbling Down
Dear Diary,
December 13, 1937
This time, I kept my promise. I have started to write to you in less than a month. I write to you with great happiness. Today was the big day that we broke through the doors of Nanjing and entered the grand city through its doors. I, of course was at the head of this march. As I saw Mukai Toshiaki ordering men to kill hundreds of civilians, I smiled slightly. I was proud of the soldiers carrying out those commands. At the start of war, they were a bunch of timid men and now, by the end of the war, I have converted them to strong, brave soldiers that serve the Imperial army. While I was walking through the door, I got a nasty idea. I decided to take all the girls over 15 and under 30 that I could see and give them to the soldiers as a gift. (Did he really do this?) When I gave my orders, the soldiers screamed in glee, while taking one or two of the girls each. I was happy as well. When I finally went to my tent, I lied down on my bed thinking about the number of people that I have killed. After about 5 minutes I got up and started planning on how to capture the remaining part of Nanjing that was still rebellious. I decided that I would just simply shoot or bomb the area. That would show the Chinese people who is boss and who should be in charge. When that is all done I can finally return to my country. It is now night time. My troops are calling me. I will stop writing here. I want to join my group and celebrate today’s accomplishments. Well good bye until I write again.
Best regards,
Matsui Iwame
IMAGE SOURCE <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Iwane_Matsui_rides_into_Nanjing.jpg>
Diary # 4: Through the Gates into Hell
Dear Diary,
December 15, 1937
Hello. I wrote to you two days ago. Today, I write to you with good news. I have recovered from my illness. It was just a simple cold or something, nothing to worry about. Also, I want to write to you about how I finally beat the Chinese. I am VICTORIOUS!!!! About 3 hours ago, we successfully surrounded the enemy and gained victory. I was so happy and so were the other soldiers. Finally I could return to Japan and see white snow and not snow dyed of blood. I could go back and enjoy my time alone without anyone bothering me. That thought makes me so happy. I just ended celebrating this great victory. We had a huge feast as well as a toast for the victory. I am now on my bed writing to you. Just right before I started writing, I remembered a women with a name tag. The name was Minnie Vautrin. I saw her during my march in to Nanjing a few days ago. I wonder who she might be. I remember her having western physical traits, like high noes and thin lips. She seemed like an American because she did not have that special something that European’s have. I guess she is a missionary, but I still worry why she starred at me in total terror. I mean, I am pretty sure that I did not ever attack the Americans. Well, anyways, I rather go to sleep than jot down words on to a diary. Not that I do not like you, but I am so tired from all the battles, deaths, blood. I wish I could not see that anymore. (Gun sound from outside) Well, I guess I heard another death from outside. I should really go to sleep now. Good bye.
Best regards,
Matsui Iwame
Diary # 5: A Survivor
Dear Diary,
December 22, 1948
Hello my old friend. Today I have to bring you sad news... A week ago, I have been put on trial for war crime. It turns out that I am guilty and I am gonna be hanged tomorrow.
I am not that sad about dying. However, I am really sad that the Imperial Army has lost to the Americans against the war. We have experienced DEFEAT. Well, I guess the Nanjing massacre was my last battle because I declared to retire right after it. I am happy with my life. Over the 70 years I have experienced a lot. I have killed a lot of people, I have traveled to different places, I ate different foods and I met a lot of different people. I have lived a good life. The only thing that angers me now is the cause of all the killing, traveling, eating and meeting people. The cause was serving ‘the Emperor’ and serving in the Imperial Army. I did all those things as a result of joining the army and serving the Emperor. (Awkward) In conclusion I lived a prosperous life, but I did not live a life of freedom. I lived like a slave. The slave of the emperor. However, what have I gained... Nothing. I gained nothing, but a verdict saying I committed war crime. Is this the way I wanted to live my life and how I want to end my life? I guess not... If I do have an after life as Buddha teaches, I hope I reincarnate as a normal human being that is free. (Deep Breathe) Now it is time for me to get ready for my death sentence tomorrow. I will end my diary here. I hope someone will read my diaries in the future. Good Bye.
Best regards,
Matsui Iwame
IMAGE SOURCE <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1018287/Japanese-radio-broadcasts-hanging-time-lift-veil-secrecy-executions.html>